In article L6Bjc.54148$_L6.4226739@attbi_s53, Jay Honeck wrote:

I've flown for almost 10 years, and almost 900 hours, VFR. Throw in another
500 hours with Mary as PIC during that period. There have been some times
when I wished I had the rating, but -- more often than not -- when I've been
grounded due to weather, an IFR rating wouldn't have helped. My plane is
simply not capable of handling ice, snow or thunderstorms -- and that covers
95% of the times I've been on the ground, cursing the weather gods...

Okay. I think that's probably true for most places. When I decided to go
for my instrument rating, I was living on the Puget Sound, and all I needed
from the rating was to climb a few thousand feet to get above the marine layer
into clear and 1e6-mile visibility.

Here on the other Sound, coming home from FL last month (with my new plane!),
the trip was 95% VMC, but I couldn't have done it without the instrument rating.

That said, while the rating does have its utility, it definitely makes the
go/nogo decision harder, not easier.


Morris